Methane hydrate

The discovery of methane hydrate on the ocean floor and in the permafrost of the Arctic has opened the door to a new source of energy. All along the continental shelves located near the coast of all land masses lay large quantities of natural gas in the form of hydrates. The natural gas molecule methane is surrounded by water molecules and is in liquid form. This gas was formed by organic materials dying and sinking to the ocean floor where they piled up. The pressure of the water and the cold temperatures formed the hydrates. The decomposition of organic material in the presence of oxygen is called oxidation and forms carbon dioxide and water but without oxygen the process is fermentation and produces methane. This gas is found at debts of about a 1000 feet which is relatively shallow for ocean drilling. Although estimates of the amount of in situ hydrates vary considerably, even the most conservative estimate puts the amount of gas present as gas hydrates in the earth at 10 to the 15th power cubic meters. (KVENVOLDEN, 1995). This amount far exceeds all conventional energy reserves by as much as a factor of two and could provide for the energy demands of the planet well into the next century. Now here is the interesting part. It appears that the hydrate prefers carbon dioxide molecules to methane molecules so when carbon dioxide is pumped into the system the methane is released and the carbon dioxide is captured. This means that this gas can be burned without increasing the total amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Energy Wire: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 Last Tuesday, Japan announced it had successfully produced natural gas from an offshore methane hydrates test well. A day later, the United States published significant new data outlining massive methane hydrate reserves along the Atlantic and Pacific shores. This will allow the world to move away from coal and oil and use only methane which means little or no nitrates, sulfates and other salts that cause pollution like acid rain. Since the carbon dioxide will be sequestered by the process there will be no further increase in carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The United States government should be encouraging the development of this valuable resource as it is much more promising than any wind or solar project. Perhaps if the next President is up to date on new energy developments this might happen.